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Author Topic: advice on HRT required please Femoston with Provera- left with suicidal ideation  (Read 978 times)

NRGEE

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I have been on Femoston1/10mg for 11.5 months and it has suited me well. I get far fewer migraines and night sweats. Femoston contains estradiol and dydrogesterone. It has however left me with very irregular periods- such that I am having to wear a sanitary towel EVERY DAY......"just incase" bleeding starts. A specialist gynaecologist prescribed Provera 5mg to take for forteen days of each month,. Provera is Methoxyprogesterone acetate. It hAS regulated my periods but I have become seriously suicidal after taking it for the 1st time 2 weeks ago. I also have extreme breast tenderness- and am wearing 2 sports bras- but can''t run without discomfort. also I canNOT sleep- a max of 1-2 hrs a night. I suffer with depression anyway- so didn't link the provera to this or the insomnia. I also have cystic breasts- just had a cyst drained today at the hospital. So- my symptoms could be psychiatric( I have a long complex case history of depression), the insomnia could be due to the depression and the breast pain could be due to cysts. My real difficulty in sleeping at all started when I started the Provera. Its a shame 'cos I stopped it on Monday and started my period on Tuesday- so it has regulated the bleeding. I rang the urgent sexual health line stating I was suicidal and I thought it could be my HRT. The specialist rang me straight back. She said it IS possible; but unusual at such a small dose to cause suicidal ideation and insomnia. She explianed to me there are 3 types of progesterone. For simplicity i shall refer to them as A,B and C. A I can tolerate fine- but you can;t get a tablet of A on its own. B doesn't suite me at all and we may try C( which dose come as a single tablet). initially she recommened a mirena coil after lock down- but for personal reasons I couldn't have one of these- supplemented by a patch of oestrogen.
i like femoston and its a shame you can't get dydrogesterone individually. i obviously need the extra progesterone to regulate my periods- but can't continue with provera - at least at 5 mg.
I know this all sounds v technical; but I am hoping one of you lovely ladies understands what I am talking about. Yesterday I started the oestrogen only part of femoston for 14 days- so am without progesterone including the additional provera- for the next 2 weeks. I should know within 30hrs approximately if provera is the cause of my severe psychiatric problems worsening. The consultant is ringing me on June 9th to discuss again. Meanwhile I am under close supervision by psychiatrists, a CPN and my GP. Has anyone else suffered by adding additional progesterone to their femoston and what did you do. Hormones are just messing me up terribly- but I need hRT as I have osteoporosis in my lower spine and am perimenapuasl with the usual associated symptoms.

NRGEE :( :( :(

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Perinowpost

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NRGEE I took 1 tablet of provera and had such a bad reaction I never  dared try it again - and I don't suffer with depression. I am progesterone intolerant though. So what I'm saying is what happened to you is possible and if I were you I wouldn't go near it. It does suit some ladies but we?re all different aren't we x
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sheila99

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Perhaps tell us what you've tried and someone may have a suggestion? Have you tried utrogeston vaginally?
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NRGEE

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Hello

All I have tried is Femoston- as it suited me fine- but just didn't regulate my periods. The specialist added Provera tablets as additional progesterone which she said would regulate my bleeding- and indeed it has; but I believe it has left me intensely suicidal, suffering with severe insomnia and breast soreness. As I only have to take it 14 days out of 28- I am currently on my 2nd day without it. Can I ask you when you had a bad reaction- how long it took for you to feel ok again after you stopped taking it?

Manyy Thanks

NRGEE
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Perinowpost

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NRGEE

It took about 24 hours. I well remember I was on holiday in France, I took it last thing at night and woke up in our hotel in the middle of the night having a panic attack, I was having palpitations and felt weird. I've never experienced anything like it before or since. It wore off the next day, but like I say I've never dared try it again. I'm a big believer in listening to your body and my body didn't like it. I know there's someone on here who prefers it, but it's not for me.

Have you tried utrogestan? lot's of ladies have success with it especially when taken vaginally x
« Last Edit: May 28, 2020, 04:45:49 PM by Perinowpost »
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sheila99

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Isn't femosten a conti regime? If you're still having periods you should be on sequi so you take oestrogen all the time and progesterone for 12-14 days followed by a bleed a couple of days later. You should only use a conti regime (oestrogen and low dose progesterone every day) if you're meno (12 months without a bleed).
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NRGEE

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Sorry- I haven't been clear- I apologise.

I take Femoston which is oestrogen alone for 14 days( a little white tablet) followed by oestrogen with progesterone for the next 14days(grey tablet). My specialist has added additional progesterone in the form of Provera which I am to take at the same time as the oestogen with progesterone( a little grey pill). The progesterone in the Femoston suites me fine. The additional provera 5mg progesterone has left me suicidal and can't sleep.
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sheila99

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Are you certain the problem is the amount of progesterone? I know nothing about femeston but I would have expected the manufacturers to use an adequate dose.
Have you had a scan recently to rule out fibroid or thickened lining being the cause?
The other thing to consider is timing. Is it possible your own cycle is out of step with the hrt one? I have a natural 6 week cycle  When I was on evorel sequi which obviously has a 4 week cycle I could bleed at any time of the month, sometimes twice in a month. My own cycle always seemed to be stronger than the hrt one and I think I sometimes got my own bleed as well as an hrt induced bleed. Could you try to align the hrt cycle to your own? Irregular periods are normal in peri which makes it difficult. I'm now on gel and utrogeston so I'm able to start utro a couple of days after I've ovulated and now bleed at the expected time when utro has finished.
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